Black Sunday

What a day. Harborough’s u14s have had a great season so far, played some great rugby and run out victorious against some very good sides. They travelled to old friends Silhillians on Sunday and found themselves up against a very well drilled side.

Silhillians have always been excellent opponents in this age group. Going back a few years, the sides have played one another at Prima Cup level, Land Rover cup and then a series of friendlies. They are the benchmark for Harborough to aim for.

The boys knew they had to take them on up front and try to build a platform. The first few minutes saw Harborough execute that game plan, but Sils rucked hard and once they had possession, their backs ran it fast and wide to open the scoring. The floodgates were open and Harborough were left searching for the sandbags. Sils won the ball at rucks without committing as many players as Harborough and that consistently gave them numbers outside.

It was a blitz masterclass for Harborough. Sils are strong in all positions and Harborough just did not have enough answers. 43 – 0 down by half time and the boys were blowing a bit. Commitment was high, but they just could not get themselves into the game.

Half time personnel changes and Harborough entered the second half with renewed vigour. They managed to close out some of Sils running game and were competitive at the set piece, but were not able to muster a score.

The final score of 64 – 0 reflects a hard lesson for the u14s. There’s always next time.